Introduction
Jesus said that He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. This was a bone of contention between Jesus and the Scribes and Pharisees throughout Jesus’ ministry. The woman in this story would have been characterized, even today, as a woman of ill repute. It didn’t bother Jesus because to Him we are all big sinners. In the gospel the expression used for those with whom Jesus met is “tax collectors, also called publicans, and sinners.” That this woman was a sinner is a verdict we would all agree on, but we know that all men are sinners, and all deserve nothing but eternal separation from the Creator. The Pharisees did not think that way. To them anyone who did not follow closely their perverted interpretation of the law of Moses was a sinner. If you walked too far, or carried too much on the sabbath you were a sinner. If you failed to follow the prescribed washings you were a sinner, but since they themselves obeyed all their superficial regulations, they were not, in their opinion, “sinners.” The Jewish religious leaders had spent the last 400 years building up what they called a “hedge” around the law. In the end they had a system of hundreds of regulations, unauthorized by God, but required by them as orthodox. To illustrate their insincerity one need only refer to the eighth chapter of John ‘s gospel. There we read in verses 1-11, But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” The woman in John 8 is the same as the woman in our text, yet the very same people, the scribes and Pharisees cannot stone her because they are complicit in her “sin.” Still they insisted, like the Pharisee in our story, that they were righteous. So consider the perfume, the parable, and the peace.
I The Perfume
Worship is perfume to God. When Israel was disobedient to God, He says their sacrifices were not sweet in Jeremiah 6:20, To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me. In contrast in the books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy God often refers to the sacrifices of Israel as a sweet savour, and in Ephesians 5:1 and 2 Paul refers to Christ’s sacrifice and says, Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. In our passage in verses 36-38 the notorious woman is offering a sacrifice that is pleasing to God and smells sweet, Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. The woman was very bold and the Pharisee was offended, but God was worshiped. Much worship is not sweet to God because it arises from self-righteous people who do not think they need to be forgiven. It is a stench and not a sweet smell in the nostrils of the almighty. True worship must come from those who know their sinful condition and are repentant. Such worship is a sweet smell to God.
II The Parable
Talk about losing an argument before it starts. That happened to the Pharisee in verses 39-43, When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.”Jesus answered him, “Simon, I have something to tell you.” “Tell me, teacher,” he said. “Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.” “You have judged correctly,” Jesus said. The parable is about the fact that the person who is forgiven most is the person who loves most. Since the Pharisee was persuaded that he did not need forgiveness, he was incapable of loving God as he ought. What I find intensely interesting about this exchange is that the Pharisee is not speaking to Jesus, but to himself. This implies that he was muttering to himself or probably just thinking to himself that Jesus could not be a prophet because He would certainly have avoided this woman if he were. Although Jesus did not know her, a prophet would be able to see into her character. Of course Jesus did and it didn’t make any difference to Him. But the irony is that Jesus counters the unspoken question by reading the mind of Simon. This of course is exactly what Simon said Jesus could not do. Jesus not only sees into the character of the woman but also into the character of Simon and He does not like what He sees, and the parable confronts Simon’s self-righteousness. In an argument with God, Simon didn’t stand a chance. It was, indeed, over before it started.
III The Peace
Jesus pronounces a benediction over the woman, and though He says no more about Simon’s heart, we might assume that there is a malediction inherent in His words. We read in verses 44-50, Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.” The benediction, “Go in peace,” is more than just a parting greeting in this case. It reminds us of Paul’s words in Romans 5:1 and 2, Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Because she is forgiven the woman has peace with God, and her devotion to Jesus proves that she has been forgiven, for she loves much. The others present on the occasion quickly ask how Jesus can forgive sin because forgiving sin is God’s prerogative. That is exactly the point. Jesus accepts the woman’s adoration and worship because He is God. Of all the things that are said by and about Jesus, none of them stands out more in demonstrating His claim to divinity. For centuries the Jewish people has been seeking God’s forgiveness through endlessly repeated sacrifices in the temple service. The Levitical priesthood was their path to forgiveness. Now came Jesus, not even a priest and He simply pronounces people forgiven on His own authority. It was shocking, and it was supposed to be. It was intended to jolt them into examining their misconceptions and accepting who He really was. The tax collectors and sinners like the woman got it, but people like the Pharisee never did. Instead they crucified the Lord of glory.
Dr. John P. Clark's Sermons & Writings 